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SOUTHPORT, England -- Ayako Uehara of Japan felt confident with the putter and played in the best weather Royal Birkdale has to offer. It was the right combination to take the lead Thursday in the Womens British Open. And the best she could manage was a 4-under 68. Pot bunkers can present problems on any links course. Throw in some thick grass and par becomes a problem. Michelle Wie could attest to that. The U.S. Womens Open champion spent too much time chipping out of sand and rough on her way to a 75. Cristie Kerr didnt make a birdie, shot 81 and withdrew with a sore back. Only nine players broke par, all but two of them in the relative calm of a sunny morning along the Irish Sea. "Its only going to get harder," defending champion Stacy Lewis said after a 71. "Anything under par on this golf course is a good score." Uehara got her lone mistake out of the way early and made another bogey after the opening hole. She made three birdies in a four-hole stretch, added two birdies on the back nine and built a one-shot lead over Mo Martin. "Ayako obviously put up a really good number," said Lewis, who played in her group. "She seems like she wasnt in trouble at all. She was just greens, greens, centre of the green. You can kind of learn a little bit from that and maybe not go at so many pins." Morgan Pressel scrambled her way to a 70, joined by Sarah Kemp and Mina Harigae. The only players who broke par in the afternoon were former U.S. Womens Open champion So Yeon Ryu and Amy Yang, who played in the final group at the U.S. Womens Open last month. Both shot 71. "I dont think they can make it any easier," Pressel said. That doesnt bode well for Wie, who was introduced on the first tee as the U.S Womens Open champion and then posted her highest score of the year. Wie had to birdie the par-5 18th hole -- the only time she hit driver -- to finish 3 over. "Thought I made a good game plan," Wie said. "Just didnt hit good shots today." Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., had a 2-over 74. The scores Thursday might have been a preview of what the men can expect next week at Royal Liverpool for The Open Championship, through Royal Birkdale is a stronger test. The links courses are separated by about 25 miles, and a wet spring has allowed the grass to get thick and lush. That makes it difficult to make contact with the golf ball, assuming it can be found. Tiger Woods won at Liverpool in 2006 on a fast course with wispy grass. "The golf course is so hard, I couldnt imagine four days of this much rough and all the wind and everything it entails," Lewis said "Its nice to have it pretty calm today." Pressel had 23 putts, though only four of them were for birdie. She escaped with par when she found trouble off the tee and one time salvaged bogey. Playing her third shot from the right rough to a pin on the right side of the tough 16th green protected by a pot bunker, Pressel played short of the green and got up-and-down to limit the damage. Her putter made all the difference. "I was happy that I made it look easier than it actually was," Pressel said. It wasnt like that for everyone. Paula Creamer was 5-over par after five holes and rallied for a 75. The best comeback belonged to Jessica Korda, who went out in 39 and then made four birdies on the back nine to return to even par. Karrie Webb, Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen and Kraft Nabisco champion Lexi Thompson also were at even par. The way it looked Thursday, anyone around par might be in good shape when it ends on Sunday. Wie now has to climb back on a course that makes it feel as though she has to scale a mountain. She tried to rely on her powerful stinger off the tee, using mostly hybrids, to stay short of the bunkers and out of the rough. But she hit only seven fairways, leading to three of her bogeys. "I definitely felt like my tempo was a little bit off," Wie said. "But its a long way until Sunday, and I battled out there. Its not the score I was looking forward to on Thursday, but it could have been a lot worse." Martin had a plan for Birkdale, too. She is one of the shorter hitters on the LPGA Tour and cant recall a round where she hit so many 3-woods off the tee, all in an effort to stay out of trouble. "Every hole, every shot is its own test," Martin said. "You just really have to have so much strategy. It keeps you in the moment and its a challenge. Its a fun challenge." Discount Ecco Shoes . Amare Stoudemire had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Carmelo Anthony scored 21 and the New York Knicks won their eighth straight game, 93-92 over Philadelphia on Friday night, sending the Sixers to their 23rd straight loss. Ecco Shoes Outlet .com) - Hassan Whiteside scored 20 points with nine rebounds in the Miami Heats 83-75 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. http://www.eccocheap.com/ . The agreement comes a little more than one week after the video game manufacturer agreed to a $40 million settlement in a similar but separate case, bringing the total payout planned for athletes to $60 million, said Steve Berman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, and the NCAA. Wholesale Ecco Shoes Free Shipping . He never mentioned anything about his hitting. The 33-year-old right-hander had success with both Sunday, pitching six solid innings and helping the offence-starved Mets with an RBI single as New York salvaged a doubleheader split with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Cheap Ecco Shoes China . The move will give Hentgen the "time needed to support his family and his fathers current health issues," the Blue Jays said in a release. Hentgen spent 10 of his 14 big-league seasons with the Blue Jays, winning a Cy Young Award in 1996.Marin Cilic takes on David Goffin and Milos Raonic meets Gael Monfils as the Indian Wells quarter-finals begin on Thursday, live on Sky Sports 3 HD. In a wide-open bottom half of the draw, early exits for Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych have left 10th seed Cilic as the highest ranked player remaining and the former US Open champion will take on Wawrinkas conquerer Goffin for a place in the last four.Thursdays other quarter-final will see big-serving Canadian Raonic up against flamboyant Frenchman Monfils with both men yet to drop a set in California. Indian Wells - Quarter Finals Top Half Novak Djokovic v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Rafa Nadal v Kei Nishikori Bottom Half Marin Cilic v David Goffin Milos Raonic v Gael Monfils The top half of the draw has progressed exactly to seeding with Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal joined by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals scheduled for Friday. Marin Cilic (10) v (15) David GoffinFirst up from 8pm on Thursday is only a second meeting between Cilic and Goffin, but it comes just over a week after the first when the two clashed in a pivotal Davis Cup rubber between Cilics Croatia and Goffins Belgium. David Goffin ended Stan Wawrinkas bid for a Masters title With Croatia leading 2-1 Goffin came through in four sets to see off Cilic and while Croatia went on to win, Goffin had picked up both points for his country and will be hoping for more of the same as he targets a victory that will see him through to his first Masters semi-final.Goffins previous 1000 Series best is a quarter-final in Rome last year and the 25-year-old will be looking to continue the steady improvement of last year that took him to a career-high 14th in the world rankings and saw him beat Wawrinka in a nerve-shredding last 16 encounter on Wednesday. Goffin delighted with victory over Stan Wawrinka The Swiss ace battled back from a set and 4-0 down to take the second set but showing tremendous composure Goffin came through a thrilling tie-break to secure victory over the world number four and remain on course for a first Tour title since 2014.ddddddddddddCilic is the highest seed left in the bottom half and has endured a low-key start to 2016 with defeat to Nick Kyrgios in the final in Marseille the high-point of a year that saw him beaten in the Australian Open third round and suffer early defeats in Acapulco and Montpellier Marin Cilic is seeking a first Masters semi-final appearance However the 27-year-old dropped his first set of the week in his last 16 match against Richard Gasquet but he outlasted his opponent in the sweltering conditions for a 7-5 5-7 6-2 victory that sees him into the last eight.Surprisingly the 2014 US Open champion has never been beyond the quarter-finals of a Masters event and will be looking to do so in the first last eight match up in California.Milos Raonic (12) v (13) Gael MonfilsThe second quarter-final gets underway on Sky Sports from 2am and will see a fifth career meeting between Canadas Raonic and Frances Monfils.Seeded 12th and 13th and ranked 14th and 16th there is little between the players. Raonics walkover win in a San Jose semi-final means it is Monfils who has the edge in contests between the pair.Their most recent match-up was an Australian Open quarter-final in January which Raonic came through in four tight sets. Milos Raonic meets Gael Monfils at Indian Wells The Canadian has raced lightly this year, reaching the final in Brisbane before his run to the last four in Melbourne. His performances in Indian Wells suggest his break after Australia has done him good and he hasnt spent too long on court in California either.A surprisingly one-sided last-16 win over Berdych followed a win over Bernard Tomic which came when the Australian withdrew trailing 6-2 3-0. His second round victory was achieved in straight sets over Inigo Cervantes. Nadal through, Wawrinka out Report from Wednesdays last 16 matches at Indian Wells Monfils too has made light work of his opponents so far, coming through 6-3 6-4 against Federico Delbonis in the last 16 after the Argentine had ousted Murray. Alberto Ramos-Vinolas was dispatched with ease and his toughest test so far came in a 7-5 7-6 (7-1) second round win over Pablo Carreno Busta.After his Melbourne quarter-final defeat, Monfils has played just two events, suffering a surprise defeat in the round of 32 in Montpellier before a run to the final in Rotterdam where he lost to Martin Klizan.Neither player has won a Masters title although both have two runners-up spots on their CV and will be looking to press their claims in California on Thursday night. You can follow all the action from Indian Wells on Sky Sports 3 from 8pm and when the action restarts at 2am. Also See: Nadal downs Zverev Serena through in Indian Wells Tennis on Sky Video ' ' '